The basics for each of these isexplained here while Money Mail's Tony Hazell provides a good round-up here. Then below, we have packed in links to articles where we explore these options in more depth.

So how do you lessen the risk while keeping the higher income? The trick is to put your money into several pots using cash, bonds and shares, so when one is out of favour, the others may compensate.

We asked advisers how to divide money and their answers are shown in the graphic below. We’ve stuck to a 50/50 split between bonds/cash and shares to bring down the risks, although each model could be tweaked to suit individual circumstances.

You could hold more cash for security, for example, or take more bonds to increase the income. And older savers with smaller pots of money might want to avoid shares altogether.

We’ve also used average returns, although you could achieve better (or worse) depending on the fund or account used.

All investors should have a cash cushion for emergencies, even if it earns little interest, says IFA Tim Cockerill. He advises those with savings of £10,000 or less to stay in cash because a crash in bond or share prices could wipe out the entire nest-egg.

Couples should always put savings in the name of the person who pays least tax, or inside an Isa. Isas have an annual allowance of £10,680 per person, of which £5,340 can be held in cash. Any income taken from these investments is tax-free. On cash and bonds, this boosts the income of a basic-rate taxpayer by 25 per cent and that of a higher-rate taxpayer by 66 per cent. [Read more]